Public finance bulletin: March 2009

Headline comparisons

Central government current receipts in February were 9.8% lower than in the same month last year. The Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2008-09 published in November implies a fall relative to last year's levels of 0.6% for the year as a whole and a fall of 2.6% for the period from November 2008 to March 2009. The latest figures show a fall relative to last year's levels of 3.1% for the year to date, with a 9.3% fall between November 2008 and February 2009 compared to the same four months last year.

Central government current spending in February was 6.5% higher than in the same month last year. The Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2008-09 published in November implies an increase over last year's levels of 5.8% for the year as a whole and of 6.1% for the period from November 2008 to March 2009. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 5.7% for the year to date, and a 5.9% increase between November 2008 and February 2009 compared to the same four months last year.

Public sector net investment in February was £7.1bn, compared to £5.7bn in February 2008. So far in 2008-09, a total amount of £31.4bn has been spent on public sector net investment, which is 50% higher than had been spent by the same point in 2007-08. The Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2008-09 published in November predicted that net investment in 2008-09 as a whole would be £36.5bn, which is 25% above last year's level and implies an increase of 9% for the period from November 2008 to March 2009.